Expedia Direct Connection FAQ | Bookings, Availability, Rates
Posted by Erica Johnson on 22 Jan 2016 09:47 AM

Frequently Asked Questions about the BookingCenter-Expedia Direct Connection

How do I get started with my Expedia Direct Connection?

If you DO NOT have an account with Expedia, go to Expedia | New Account Setup.

If you DO have an account with Expedia go to Expedia | Activate Connection

For important information on setting up and managing your Expedia connection, see Expedia | Manage Connection


 How do I know when my Expedia Direct Connection is live?

After BookingCenter has completed the mapping of your Room Types, we will confirm the connection with Expedia. You will then receive a confirmation email from Expedia. In this confirmation email, you will be asked to log into the extranet to activate the direct connection. When you click this button and activate the connection, you will be LIVE on Expedia and can receive bookings. BookingCenter will also receive notification that the connection has been activated by you and update all rates and availability. If there are any issues, please let us know by updating your support ticket. 


How do I change Property Information, Images, Room Type Descriptions and Amenities?

All changes to Property and Room Type information such as descriptions, images, amenities, etc. are made in the Expedia Partner Central extranet. You have complete control over this in your Extranet. If you need help with making these changes, please contact your Expedia Market Manager. Remember, BookingCenter sends ONLY Availability, Rates and Restrictions to your Expedia Extranet. 


How do I find Expedia bookings in MyPMS?

All Expedia bookings will come in to your BookingCenter PMS with the agent code of EXPDIRHC=Expedia Hotel Connect, EXPDIRHC= Expedia Collect or EXPDIRPK= Expedia Packages, depending on the program you are signed up for. All Expedia bookings will come in with EXPDIR as the Source and an "E", for Expedia, at the end of the booking confirmation #, I.e. 626310332E

  • The booking will be automatically integrated into your PMS and appear on the Tape Chart as an "Unconfirmed" booking.
  • You can also see all online bookings that have integrated into your PMS in SETUP | BOOKINGS | ONLINE BOOKINGS. For instructions see Online Bookings.
  • To locate an online booking at the front desk, go to BOOKINGS | SEARCH BOOKINGS and search by Source. For an example, see Search Bookings

 How do I know when a Expedia booking is made?

When a booking is made on Expedia, you will receive an email notification from Expedia and it will automatically integrate into your PMS system and appear on the Tape Chart as and "unconfirmed" booking in Red. You can also see all bookings made in SETUP | BOOKINGS | ONLINE BOOKINGS. See Online Bookings


How do I add or remove a Room Type?

Easily add/remove room types by making the changes in Expedia Partner Central and then notifying BookingCenter of the changes. See Expedia | Add or Remove Room Types


How do I make sure that my room types in MyPMS are mapped to my Expedia extranet?

Once we receive noification of your activation request, BookingCenter will complete the mapping for you! All you need to do is make sure that you have the Room Types setup in Expedia Partner Central extranet and we will map them in MyPMS to channels EXPDIRHC=Expedia Hotel Connect, EXPDIRHC= Expedia Collect, and EXPDIRPK= Expedia Packages. See Expedia | Agent Allocations


How will I be able to see what is mapped to the Expedia Extranet

Go to SETUP | RELATIONSHIPS | AGENT RELATIONSHIPS. Locate Agent BKGDIR. Click on the number "X of X"  in the Allocations column and this will open a window with the Room Type/Rate Plans currently allocated to Expedia See Agent Relationships


How do I know what Rates are being sent to Expedia?

All your Room Types will be mapped to the Standard Rate Plan for each Room Type you have allocated in MyPMS under SETUP | RATES | ROOM TYPES, unless you specify otherwise.  All Room Type/Rate Plan allocation changes must be done by BookingCenter. If you need to change a Room Type/Rate Plan, then please submit a support ticket with the requested change.  


How do I make Rate changes?

There are two ways to change rates. Rate changes made in the property management system will be sent to ALL channels the Room Type/Rate Plan is allocated. Changes made in the Expedia extranet will apply ONLY to the Expedia.

  1. BookingCenter property management system: Rate changes made in SETUP | RATES | MANAGE RATES will automatically update to Expedia and can be seen in your Extranet. See Manage Rates
  2. Expedia Partner Central extranet: Changes to rates can be made in the Expedia extranet and will over ride any rate changes made in the property management system.

How do I manage availability?

There are two ways to manage availability. Availability changes made in the property management system will be sent to ALL channels the Room Type/Rate Plan is allocated. Changes made in the Expedia extranet will apply ONLY to the Expedia channel.

  1. BookingCenter property management system: Any changes made to availability in the property mangement system will automatically update to all channels including Expedia. This includes Closed to Arrival on Rates, Out of Order Rooms, etc. See Manage Availability
  2. Expedia Partner Central extranet: Changes to availability can be made in the Expedia extranet and will over ride any rates set in the property management system.

Where do I make changes to Restrictions: Closed to Arrival, Min. LOS and Max LOS.

There are two ways to change restrictions: Restriction changes made in the property management system will be sent to ALL channels the Room Type/Rate Plan is allocated. Changes made in the Expedia extranet will apply ONLY to the Expedia channel.

  1. BookingCenter property management system: Rate changes made in SETUP | RATES | MANAGE RATES will automatically update to Expedia and can be seen in your Extranet. See Rate Restrictions and Manage Rates
  2. Expedia Partner Central extranet: Changes to rates can be made in the the extranet and will over ride any rate changes made in the property management system.

How do I add a promotion?

Contact your Expedia market manager and set up the promotion in your Extranet. Please tell your Expedia Market Manager that the promotion must be setup in "Instant Promo Mapping".  This setting was designed to be for short-term promotions for properties who wanted to offer promotions with short notice and NOT require extra mapping from the Channel Manager (in your case, BookingCenter). For important information and more details on Promotions, see Expedia Direct | Create Promotions


 

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